1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to sockets. More specifically, the present invention relates to sockets for use with electrical conduit lock nuts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been many different types of electrical conduit connectors developed to connect conduit carrying electrical circuits. A common way of securing the conduit connectors is to use a lock nut having a plurality of lugs about the lock nut for tightening of the lock nut about threads of a conduit end opening. These lock nuts are typically tightened and loosened by someone such as an electrician during installation or disassembly of an electrical conduit structure.
Lock nuts of this type have typically been tightened or loosened by placing the tip of a flat bladed screwdriver against a lug of the lock nut and striking the handle of the screwdriver with a hammer to manipulate the lock nut about threads of a conduit end opening. This method of manipulating a lock nut can be dangerous in that a person attempting to strike the handle of a screwdriver for this reason may inadvertently miss the handle all together or cause the blade of the screwdriver to dislodge from the lug of the lock nut and be redirected toward another object with a potentially great amount of force being concentrated in the tip of blade possibly causing puncture damage to other objects.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that provides a more suitable means of manipulating a lock nut about the threads of an electrical conduit connector opening. There are several different types of tools disclosed in the prior art having tooling profiles that are designed for other applications. Several of these tools are disclosed here.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,520 issued to Bueno discloses a wrench for removing stud bolts that are damaged. The annular wall has an inner cam-shaped surface with cam members inwardly protruded that limit the angular displacement of the gripping toothed dog members when a user actuates the handle assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,492 issued to Liou discloses a socket wrench having a handled hollow head receiving a torque transmitting sleeve member which is provide with peripheral teeth to engage with inwardly extending teeth of the hollow head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,031 issued to Bradley discloses an improved ratchet wrench which allows the socket to be turned without pivoting the handle. The improvements include a flat gear which either fits over the drive stud of the wrench""s heads and is sandwiched in between the heard and a socket snapped on the head or is made integrally with the head. The gear projects beyond the socket and has driven hear teeth about its periphery.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,596 issued to Akkerman discloses an apparatus for locking a tool into an annular grove formed on the interior of a subterranean well includes a segmented lock ring expandable into the grove by axially shiftable tapered keys wedged between segments of the ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,399 issued to Hallerback discloses a tool for dismantling a locking ring consisting of a annular portion having a plurality of radially projecting circumferentially spaced locking tongues for supporting a bearing element such as a ring in an opening in a housing or the like. The dismantling tool comprises a generally disc-like member having a circumferential rib depending from one axial face thereof adapted to abut the annular portion of the locking ring radially inwardly of the locking tongues.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,697,370 issued to Brooks discloses a ratchet type socket wrench having recessed gripping teeth sized and shaped to interact with protruding teeth of the mating portion of the ratchet type socket wrench.
These tools of the prior art generally teach designing tools with tooling profiles conforming to the profile of a particular fastener. However, the prior art does not teach or disclose a socket type tool for the manipulation of a lock nut and the special considerations taken into consideration when arriving at a socket for lock nuts.
With the foregoing need in mind, the claimed invention provides a lock nut socket for use in manipulating a lock nut about the threads of an electrical conduit connector opening.
The socket generally comprises a skirt wall, a plurality of teeth, a centering stem or guide with a tapered lead in, and a recess well or gap. The socket can be sized to engage a variety of different sizes of standard lock nuts and can be grouped in a plurality of sizes to form a set.
The skirt wall has a uniform thickness and is sized and shaped to enclose a circular area substantially equal to an outer ring diameter of a standardized electrical conduit lock nut. The wall has a substantially smooth inner face and a substantially smooth outer face that terminate to form a substantially flat lip.
The plurality of uniformly radially spaced teeth extend from the lip of the wall and are sized and shaped to matingly engage lugs of an electrical conduit lock nut. The teeth are spaced about the flat lip of the rigid wall to sliplessly engage lugs of varying width when torsional force is applied to the socket.
The centering stem centered within the skirt and is sized and shaped to coact with an inner wall of an electrical conduit opening to axially align the spaced teeth with lugs of an electrical conduit lock nut about the electrical conduit opening. The tapered lead in portion about the centering stem provides spatial relief for initial engagement of the centering stem with an inner wall of an electrical conduit opening.
The recess well between the centering stem and the teeth provide a clearance recess for protruding walls of an electrical conduit opening to reside in during engagement of the teeth with lugs of an electrical conduit lock nut when the lock nut is about an electrical conduit opening.